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For incumbent Sen. Paul Coverdell, the challenge in this race was to re-introduce himself to state voters after being overshadowed by another famous Georgia lawmaker (first name starts with an N, last name starts with a G) for the last six years.

Two of Paul CoverdellÂ's signature issues, education and IRS reform, have also been major campaign themes. CoverdellÂ's ads tout his leadership as the Chairman of several hearings investigating abuses within the IRS. He claims heÂ's, Adone more to improve education in America than many senators do in a whole lifetime@ with Education Savings Accounts and plan to send 95-cents of evry education dollar straight to the classroom. His media campaign portrays him as a humble, energetic, and tireless workhorse Senator.

His challenger, Democrat Michael Coles, came into the race with a somewhat celebrity status after he challenged House Speaker Newt Gingrich for his seat in 1996. (He emerged with a respectable 42% of the vote.) The self-made millionaire, and former state Democratic Party Chairman, announced his candidacy from the busines

Democrats have occupied the governor's office in Georgia for more than 100 years. Republicans are hoping that wealthy businessman Guy Millner, who has twice come within spitting distance of winning statewide, can break the Democrats' hold, now that the popular Governor Zell Miller is barred by term limits from running for reelection.

Democratic nominee Roy Barnes is working to translate Miller's sky-high approval ratings into votes for himself. Millner has proven in earlier races that he is willing to dig into his pockets and spend what it takes to win. More of a televised food fight than a campaign, this race will likely go down as one of the most nastiest of the year.

The GOP nominee for governor in 1994 and for U.S. Senate in 1996, Millner is by now well-known to Georgia voters. He came within 32,555 votes of unseating Zell Miller in 1994 and 30,024 votes in an open seat contest for the Senate gainst Max Cleland. Now he is hoping that the third time will be a charm.

A state representative and attorney, Barnes is a conservative Democrat who opposes abortion and has earned the endorsement of the NRA. He also is personally wealthy but can not compete with Millner's bank account which is estimated to be more than $100 million. Libertarian candidate Jack Cashin may also be a factor in the race. He took 4% of the vote in the 1996 Senate race, much of which came at Millner's expense.

Polls are showing Millner and Barnes in a statistical dead heat. With all the negative sparring between the major party candidates, Cashin could benefit, and possibly deprive Millner of the elusive victory. It is impossible to predict which way this race will break.